A series of think tanks and debates will take place at the Surface Design Show next week, hosted by Building Futures. The discussion will measure the value of intangible vs. quantifiable aspects of design, and explore whether sustainability and low cost building has bred a generation of cautious designers without visionary ideals.
Topics will include: Is the era of design for design’s sake over? Are we ethically bound to move towards the aesthetic austerity associated with economic responsibility, or can we still encourage the unfettered extravagance of boom times? Is it a case of either/or, or can we have the best of both worlds? Is austerity necessarily a bad thing? Is good design an unaffordable luxury? Is “frumpitecture” and “new puritanism” a sign of the times, or simply a stylistic movement? Are bad architects hiding behind the banner of sustainability as justification for poor design?
Participants 'for the motion' include Professor Robert Adam, Adam Architecture and Denise Chevin, Journalist and former Editor of Building Magazine. 'Against the motion' are Patrik Schumacher, Zaha Hadid Architects and Professor Bill Hillier, Space Syntax.
To register, email BuildingFutures@inst.riba.org, and provide your full name, job title, company and address.
